The Most Expensive Watches in the World

Got lots of money burning holes in your designer pockets? Want to impress impressionable loonies and gangstas? Then you need a watch, timepiece, chronograph or whatever you prefer to call it, that the really really really rich buy. In this case what you need is not a flashy and tacky Rolex, but a far more exclusive Franck Muller complication (Franck Muller likes to call his watches Masters of Complications). How do we know that the super rich buy Franck Muller watches ? Because Robert Frank says so in his book Richistan, where he also says the super-rich don't buy BMWs either, they go for Maybachs.

How expensive is a Franck Muller watch ? And indeed, you might ask, which is the most expensive watch in the world ? Well on Saturday 7th November 2009, the first Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4™ Grande Sonnerie Westminster Carillon was delivered in the prestigious setting of the salon 'Empire' in the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. Price : $2.7 million. This makes it the most expensive watch ever sold outside of an auction.

Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4™ Grande Sonnerie Westminster Carillon

The Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4™ Grande Sonnerie Westminster Carillon is the culmination of a project that began in 2004. The Aeternitas Mega 4™ is the world’s most complicated wrist-watch. It features 36 complications, 25 of which are visible on the dial and on the back, comprising 1,483 individual components.

Who bought the most expensive watch in the world? A gentleman called Michael J. Gould, a passionate watch collector who traveled to Monte Carlo in his private jet to take delivery of the first Aeternitas Mega 4™ personally from Mr. Franck Muller and Mr. Vartan Sirmakes, co-founders of the Franck Muller Manufacture.

The event was witnessed by 400 guests, including representatives of the government of Monaco.

Between the 6th and 8th November, the Conquistador Grand Prix collection with the automatic Chronograph and Tourbillon models were presented to distributors and retailers. The Infinity collection features Reka Diamonds and Reka Safari Diamonds and "brings a sensual design to the already strong ladies collection".

So who is Franck Muller?

Franck Muller was born in Switzerland (La Chaux-de-Fonds) in July 1958. His father was Swiss and mother was Italian, his passion is creating obsessively complicated, unique and revolutionary timepieces, greatly appreciated by watch connoisseurs and celebrities such as including Robin Williams, Demi Moore and Elton John amongst others.

Franck Muller's timepieces are famous a combination of understated style and traditional Swiss excellence. It is worth nothing that the president of the company designs the mechanism of every watch himself.

Franck Muller started his career by restoring mechanical timepieces for collectors, auction houses and museums and gained a reputation as one of the best restorers of antique timepieces.

By 1992 Franck Muller had moved on and had four patents and twenty-one world premieres to his name. His watches are renowned for their highly sophisticated features and the extraordinary precision of their operations. His designs continue to be revolutionary and unique.

He created the House of Franck Muller in 1992 and his watches achieved an instant reputation throughout the US and Europe. Today Franck Muller creates limited numbers of watches for private clients.

As he realized early on that the design of a watch is the first thing that catches the eye he created the well-known and instantly recognizable Curvex Tonneau case.

Current collections include: Chronograph, Color Dreams, Tourbillon and Conquistador.

Each year Franck Muller launches a world premiere i.e. a new line of timepieces that contains something exclusive.

Notable watches include the Endurance, Revolution2, and the Curvex Minute Repeater Tourbillon, with production limited to 25 pieces.

The Franck Muller website is a very interesting place and is a work of art in itself, as you would expect from someone who pays such great attention to detail.

If you are looking for other expensive stuff you may wish to click here to see what are the most expensive items you can buy on Amazon -